Wings of Hope That Weathered A Storm

Like an abandoned battlefield post-war, the farmlands in Peravurani lay in peril with rows of uprooted coconut trees all over. The 2018 cyclone Gaja had left behind in its wake an oppressive silence and a long trail of destruction.

- N. Ramesh

In Thanjavur district alone, the cyclone uprooted nearly 45 lakh coconut trees, and the Peravurani area was among the worst hit.

The 46-year-old Karthikeyan Velsamy from Peravurani and a group of young volunteers, who distributed relief materials to people in around 40 cyclone-hit villages, were in deep shock. "What we saw was farmers, primarily dependent on coconut cultivation, were in utter despair," said Karthikeyan. "With their livelihoods lost, many were contemplating moving out of the villages in search of alternative jobs," he said when describing the inflexion point that pushed him and his like-minded friends towards a path of restoration.

The young volunteers, along with the village elders, veteran farmers and retired officials from the agriculture and police departments, banded together to rebuild the livelihoods of the farmers. After careful consideration, the team settled on rejuvenating waterbodies in the area, beginning with its largest lake - Periya Urani sprawling 564 acres - on the outskirts of the town, which is named after the lake.